Robert Downey Jr. will grace the big screens at the end of this year with his role in the much-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday. However, instead of portraying the iconic role of Iron Man, fans will see a new side to him as he takes on the role of villainous Doctor Doom. But instead of weighing in on his role or movie, Downey Jr. shared some sharp criticism of influencer culture in his recent interview.
Robert Downey Jr. calls influencers “evangelical hucksters”
During his recent appearance on the Conversations for our Daughters podcast, Downey Jr. explained how the notion of fame and celebrity has changed over the years since he started out in the film business. He stated that nowadays, people do not really have to do much to gain popularity, drawing parallels with what it was like in the ’70s and ’80s.
“In the late ’70s, early ’80s, dangerous though it was, there was this sense that the competition wasn’t so stiff that you shouldn’t even bother trying,” he said, adding, “Whereas, nowadays, people can create celebrity without ever doing much besides rolling a phone on themselves.” Downey Jr. further said that in the era of influencer culture, it has become really hard for individuals to stand out from the crowd and express their individuality.
However, Robert hopes that in the near future, young people will not hesitate to break out of the mould and “build something” new. “I just look at it as more like the challenge for individuation is being upped,” he further explained. “Hopefully, the grosser part of our youth is going to say, ‘Yeah, but that’s not my thing. I want to go do something. I want to make something. I want to build something. I want to educate myself.’”
Later in the conversation, he also strongly dismissed the idea that social media influencers will become the entertainment industry’s biggest stars in the future. “When I hear people talk about, ‘Oh, the stars of the future are going to be influencers,’ I go, ‘I don’t know what world you’re living in, but I think that that is absolute horses—.’ There’s something about the influencers today that are almost like the evangelical hucksters of the information age.”
Despite his criticism, Downey admitted that he has met several influencers during film promotions and described many of them as “grounded, interesting, accomplished, cool people.” He said the issue is less about influencers themselves and more about the growing belief that online popularity alone equals lasting stardom. Are you in agreement with Robert Downey Jr.’s opinions about influencer culture? Please share your thoughts with us.
